This May 7th, four giant pandas named Da Mao, Er Shun, Jia Yueyue and Jia Panpan made their debut at the Calgary Zoo in their exclusive, newly constructed home, Panda Passage. Passionate fans of all ages came from all over the country to see them.

The first two pandas in Canada can be dated back to February 1988. At the time, “International Ambassadors of Friendship”, Qun Qun and Xi Xi, came for a short stay of seven months.

To best prepare for the new group of pandas’ arrival, Calgary zoo not only constructed the Panda Passage with four carefully-designed areas but also organized a team of panda experts to take care of the family’s eating and living. What’s more, Calgary zoo collaborated with Hainan Airlines to ship bamboo directly from Chengdu to Calgary. Calgary zoo is one of the first zoos outside of China to provide pandas with the ‘taste of home’.

Food Fresh from Home

HNA Cargo’s communication specialist Wang Ying gave an example about how they utilize very comprehensive measures to ensure the bamboo, which is shipped as food for the pandas, remains fresh until it arrives in Canada. From its landing in Beijing, to its required transfers between certain storage rooms, to double checking its weight and ensuring its temperature, HNA cargo makes sure that the entire process takes less than six hours, effectively ensuring the bamboo’s safety and freshness.

Conservation Efforts and Green Travel Initiatives

Pandas aren’t only the source of cuteness and fun. They play a significant role in leading conservation efforts for endangered animals. With pandas, people learn about the need to conserve wildlife and grow more inclined to give support to conservation programs in China, in Canada, and around the world. Such raised awareness would be helpful for many future generations to come.

The same passion for environmental protection and green travel brought Calgary Zoo and Hainan Airlines together. As a SKYTRAX Five-Star airline for seven consecutive years, Hainan Airlines focuses on providing quality service to customers as well as taking a leadership role in corporate social responsibility and green travel initiatives. In June 2016, Hainan co-founded the “Green Aviation Initiative Network” with 27 other companies, aiming to develop a platform that facilitates conversation with green travel. A year later, on November 21, 2017, Hainan Airlines completed its first transcontinental flight with an aircraft fueled in part by biofuels derived from waste cooking oil. Joining Calgary Zoo’s conservation efforts is another step of Hainan Airlines to fulfill its promise of making the world a better place.